Farmstead
Category: Monochrome
The forlorn remnants of an old farm or small holding near Macclesfield, Cheshire. All land which is now under threat of redevelopment (housing) due to the relocation of a large and popular school.
I often feel compelled to photograph subjects such as this. There is an interesting allusion to the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, an idea that finds beauty in imperfection and the signs of wear and weathering, the tangible manifestations of life and age. This is an interesting subject for monochrome as it is all about texture and shape but here the light and contrast doesn’t necessarily lend itself to black and white and I have helped things along a bit with a limited application of HDR processing.
Main image Exif: –
- Aperture: ƒ/8
- Focal length: 50mm
- ISO: 100
- Shutter speed: 1/500s
Prestbury – COVID-19
Category: Monochrome
Prestbury in a Time of COVID-19
An on-going situation that is leading to unprecedented changes to all of our lives. The village has never been so quiet, yet the weather these last few days has been pleasant, still and warm. There is not really any sense of great alarm or panic, people are diligently observing the new “social distancing rules” and avoiding close public contact with others. Everywhere is quiet, becalmed and uncannily pleasant; weekday traffic flow is down to one vehicle a minute or less! We are now instructed to remain at home for much of the day and legal penalties have been introduced to punish those who break this strange, but necessary, curfew.
Over the coming months I will continue to document the situation locally. I have very few other options as I am also attempting to maintain my own degree of social distance and currently not doing any of my usual long day trips on the bike!
Hopefully we will all get through this without too much personal or economic pain and above all, stay well! We will know by the end of this week about any additional financial support that may be available for freelance workers. This is a situation that is now affecting me quite badly.
- Aperture: ƒ/4
- Focal length: 50mm
- ISO: 160
- Shutter speed: 1/125s
Stanlow Chimneys
Category: Monochrome
Strong contrast and a convoluted composition of the chimneys at Stanlow refinery near Warrington. These are sometimes known as “flair stacks” and are really giant Bunsen burners that are used to burn off accumulated vapours of some sort? It is am impressive sight to see them in operation, particularly after dark, though these burn offs are quite rare.
Hale Cold War Relic
Category: Monochrome
Four Minute Warning
It’s still there! Had another day cycling around my old home turf of Hale and noticed that this once ominous relic of the cold war is still in place. This is the the siren that would have given the residents of Hale village the “four minute warning” so we could all scuttle into our makeshift (useless) home-made “Protect and Survive” shelters as megatons of nuclear firepower burst over the city and the nearby airport!
I vividly remember the chilling sound of this very siren being tested and creating a hellish drone beating with our local siren on the roof of the Unicorn (pub) hotel in Hale Barns; a mile up the road. The siren was originally hooked up to a nearby telephone pole and was activated by a special signal sent over the telephone network. This, at the time, secret civil defence system hidden in plain sight was known as HANDEL, the switching circuit in that box on the pole was constantly listening to the speaking clock until this special signal came along to activate the siren and warn us that the unthinkable was actually underway and the end of our technological civilisation and the lives of millions was suddenly a horrible reality — The sight of this thing dose bring back a lot of memories of my youthful anxiety about nuclear war.
- Aperture: ƒ/11
- Focal length: 50mm
- ISO: 100
- Shutter speed: 1/125s
If you are interested in reading more about this intriguing subject or just want to indulge technical geekery with a dose of miserabalism then you may find some of the links below interesting: –
My own piece on the “Backbone” tower at Sutton Common: BT Tower, Sutton Common
A detailed explanation of the HANDEL warning network: British Nuclear Warning System
UK cold war plans & exercises: Struggle for Survival
All Saints – Siddington
Category: Monochrome
A few heavily treated images of All Saints church in Siddington, Cheshire; seen whilst cycling down to Jodrell Bank. Some of these images have added texture layers. The building is grade 2 listed and was subjected to substantial restorations between 1853 / 1895. The surrounding area is some of the most pleasant lowland rural land in Cheshire characterised by gently rolling hills and winding lanes lined with high hedgerows – a little similar to Dorset. The parish of all saints also includes the magnificent Capesthorne Hall Tudor estate, one of Cheshire’s prime NT treasures.
- Aperture: ƒ/8
- Focal length: 13mm
- ISO: 100
- Shutter speed: 1/125s
Alderley Edge Observations
Category: Monochrome
A curious wooden bus shelter in Alderley Edge with paper textures. Had a few very enjoyable days out cycling over to the west side, the equally ‘posh’ and rarefied side of Cheshire; but my intention is often to look for things that rarely get photographed – in these parts at least. These are just a few pictures from a trip to Alderley on the 13th May, I have many more including plenty of stuff in colour but today (16th) I also continued on to Jodrell Bank in preparation for my trips down to the Blue Dot festival and got many more pictures that are, for me, essential studies of the locality.
- Aperture: ƒ/8
- Focal length: 10mm
- ISO: 100
- Shutter speed: 1/250s
